Mcrae`s A Smart Pick

He And Vols Teammate Are First-round Tackles

It looked like another tough night of Agamemnon and Ike for Charles McRae.

Classwork is weighing heavily on McRae these days, especially in the final week before the draft.

In between cracking the books on Greek and Roman mythology and U.S. military history, he`s conducting last-minute auditions for NFL offensive line coaches.

But he set a goal of graduating from the University of Tennessee on May 10, and, by Jove, he`s going to meet it.

``I`ll get out of here on time. Most of my professors (are) willing to cut me slack on when I take my finals,`` McRae said Wednesday.

Half of Tennessee`s twin tackles, McRae is one of the top two offensive linemen in Sunday`s draft. The other is his Volunteers teammate, Antone Davis.

You won`t find many NFL coaches who don`t think both will be off the board in the first 10 picks. Davis, whose burgeoning weight, 327 pounds, is making a few people queasy, probably will go No.4 to Denver. McRae might be headed to Green Bay at No.8.

But if Broncos coach Dan Reeves is tired of disciplinary problems like Gerald Perry and Clarence Kay, who can`t stay out of trouble, Davis and McRae might do a positional flip-flop.

The tall (6 feet 6 1/2) McRae is as cerebral about his football as he is about his classroom work.

``This guy is an extremely well-coached player,`` said one NFC assistant coach. ``So is Davis. But what you like about McRae is his mechanics. He has excellent balance and uses his hands so well.``

McRae and Davis were the balance points on an offense that helped Tony Thompson -- a second-string tailback -- rush for 1,261 yards and 16 touchdowns last season after starter Chuck Webb went down in the second game with a knee injury.

They are also close friends and bow-hunting partners.

``I got into archery because the father of the girl Antone goes with got him into it, and he got me into it. We`ve done some hunting together, but I haven`t hit anything but a tree so far.``

McRae is a straight arrow in the classroom. With a full load of 18 units this spring, McRae has a class in History of American Cities and independent studies in safety, religion and health.

``I`ll be getting my degree in history, but I`m going back for a master`s in computer science,`` he said.

He was going to go the other way, but Tennessee, for some reason, offered computer courses only in the afternoon, during football practice.

Those who know McRae believe some of his anticipated first-round signing- bonus money is going immediately into some expensive computer equipment.

He has been tapping computer keys since he was 9 and is accomplished enough to hook up with an international satellite operation in which he communicates with computer operators in Germany.

This is an excellent draft for offensive linemen. At least four will go in the first round.

Besides McRae and Davis, Pat Harlow of Southern Cal and Stan Thomas of Texas are considered first-rounders.

Harlow is not as bulky at 6-5 1/2 and 285 pounds as teams might like, but he has excellent strength and the quick feet necessary to become a top pass protector.

Thomas (6-5, 302) is the talkative, perhaps overly talkative, guard-tackle who said after a loss to UM: ``Look at the films. If everybody played like I did, we`d have won. Period. I did what I was supposed to do. But I can`t play for 10 other guys.``

Center John Flannery of Syracuse might be taken in the first round by San Francisco, which is interested in making some line changes. The 49ers would move incumbent center Jesse Sapolu back to guard, his original position.